POSC 215
Kesselman, pgs. 220-230, C:CP18-15
Part IV
The Making of the Modern Japanese State
True/False Questions
1. Similar to the United States, the judges on the Japanese Supreme Court serve for life to keep
them above the political fray. True or False
2. Under the Tokugawa shogunate period, the emperor maintained the real political and
economic power in Japan. True or False
3. Tokugawa Japan was an open society, encouraging regular contacts with foreign governments.
True or False
4. Led by a young heir to the imperial throne, over the next fifty years the Meiji Restoration was
able to transform a feudal state into a major industrial and military power. True or False
5. The Meiji government introduced a national public education system, composed of primary,
secondary, and voluntary post-secondary schools and colleges. True or False
6. In actual practice, it was the oligarchy of the emperor’s senior advisors who ruled the nation
during Meiji through several non-elective institutions of government. True or False
7. The largest financial and industrial conglomerates of Japan were divided into a number of
independent firms under the democratization program but were later revived once the occupation
ended. True or False
8. The political power and influence of the military grew steadily throughout the Meiji-Taisho era
and became increasingly independent from the civilian government in pursuit of its own policy
goals. True or False
9. Although the military has played a profound role in Japanese history, unlike many
underdeveloped countries where the armed forces have had little respect for civilian rule, there has
never been an attempted coup in that country. True or False
10. In spite of the fact that Japan behaved as an aggressor nation up until the end of World War II, it
steadfastly avoided civilian targets. False “Rape of Nanking” True or False
11. General MacArthur banned unions and union organizing during the Japanese occupation for fear
of the spread of communism. True or False
12. During the U.S. occupation, for the first time in Japanese history women were given the right to
vote. True or False
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13. Article 9 of the Japanese constitution permanently created a pacifist nation that renounces
war; yet the Self-Defense Forces have grown into a fully-fledged, but so far strictly defensive,
military force. True or False
14. Despite repeated government interventions to jump-start the stagnant economy over the last
two decades, Japan remains mired in economic stagnation to this day. True or False
15. Meiji Japan did emerge as the first modern Asian imperialist power by the late 1920s. True
or False
16. Penny-pinching Postwar Japan has been unwilling to seriously contribute to international
bodies, such as the UN, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, reflecting its
hostility toward international cooperation. True or False
17. Japanese economic strategy for maintaining a successful industrial policy has ceased to work
in the increasingly globalized world of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. True or
False
18. As Japan entered the twentieth century, its leaders and most of its people were far more
interested in rapid industrialization and a military buildup than in establishing a democracy. True
or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. On March 11, 2011 Japan was hit by one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in
human history of a magnitude of: a) 7.2, b) 8.1, c) 9.0, d) 10.8
2. The nation of Japan consists of some 6,850 islands with a territory that is slightly smaller than:
Arizona, b) California, c) Florida, d) Oregon.
3. The following Japanese political party has dominated the political system for most of its
history: a) Liberal Democratic Party, b) Democratic Party of Japan, c) Clean Government Party,
d) Social Democratic Party.
4. A belief system about the moral foundations of the political and social order based on a reverence
for one's ancestors and deference to authority: a) Confucianism, b) Monism, c) Shamonism, d)
Humanism.
5. The native religion of Japan is: a) Confucianism, b) Buddhism, c) Hinduism, d) Shinto.
6. In the early seventeenth century, a warlord named Tokugawa Ieyasu established a military
government called shogunate that lasted: a) 135 years, b) 175 years, c) 200 years, d) 265 years.
7. The ruling class of the Tokugawa shogunate period of Japan: a) the nobility, b) the artisans, c)
the bushi, d) the farmers.
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8. The title, meaning general, assumed by a succession of hereditary leaders of three military
dynasties that ruled Japan one after another from the late twelfth century to the mid-nineteenth
century: a) Tokugawa, b) Genro, c) Kyoto, d) Shogun
9. What event precipitated the 1868 revolution that toppled the Tokugawa regime in Japan? a) it
was too top-heavy with corrupt government bureaucrats that refused to give stipends to the
existing shogun, b) the emperor was assassinated by local samurai, angering the people, c)
Shintoism had required a transition to a new governing system, d) the forcible entry of a small
flotilla of American warships that forced the shogun to capitulate.
10. In 1925, what significant change occurred in Japan as a consequence of a law passed by the
House of Representatives? a) universal suffrage was achieved, b) the tax requirement to vote was
removed, c) women were given equal status with men, including the right to elected office, d)
prohibition was established, like the United States.
11. The period 1912-1926, was characterized by the rise of a popular movement for
democratization of government by the introduction of universal manhood suffrage and the
reduction of the power and influence of authoritarian institutions of the state: a) Meiji
Restoration, b) Peer review revolution, c) Taisho democracy, d) Bushi independence.
12. “Showa,” means: a) enlightened peace, b) reflective dynasty, c) gifted rainbow, d) tranquil rain.
13. Why did Japan withdraw from the League of Nations in 1933? a) Because Japan was not
allowed to vote in the Security Council, b) Because of the expulsion of Nazi Germany, c ) Because
of the League's condemnation of Japan for invading northern China, d) Because of Japan's refusal to
sign a chemical warfare treaty.
14. In 1936 and 1937, Japan entered into a defensive military alliance with the following nations: a)
the United States & Great Britain, b) Germany & Italy, c) France & Spain, d) Poland & Austria.
15. Why did Japan move troops into French Indochina in 1941? a) The United States terminated its
trade agreement with Japan 1939, limiting access to critical raw materials, b) The French had
threatened to curtail access to critical raw materials and energy supplies in Indochina, c) The British
no longer would allow the Japanese to trade with other Asian countries; thus, seriously threatening
the latter's economic security, d) The rise of communist insurgencies in French Indochina threatened
the hegemonic position Japan had exercised in the region.
16. Why did the Japanese government attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? a) The Japanese
had intercepted messages that the United States was planning an attack, b) The British and the U.S.
had initiated a series of military maneuvers in Indochina to counter Japanese influence, c)
Washington led an international embargo of fuel and raw materials that threatened Japan’s survival,
d) General Tojo believed that the United States was a weak country, unwilling to fight when
provoked.
17. What were the two primary goals of the U.S. occupation of Japan for the first year and half? a)
rebuild the infrastructure and extract capital, b) demilitarize and democratize the country, c)
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reconstitute the military and end the underground corruption, d) strengthen the unions and ransack
the factories.
18. After Japan’s defeat and during the U.S. occupation, the government bureaucracy was: a)
dismantled and seriously weakened, b) left largely in tact, c) an institution that never had much of a
role because of the authoritarian nature of the previous government, d) was transferred out of Tokyo
and into the countryside.
19. What was the major political crisis that arose in 1960 that resulted in Prime Minister Nobusuke
Kishi and his cabinet having to resign? a) the complete demilitarization of Japan by the removal of
American military bases, b) the revising of the Mutual Security Treaty that made Japan a military
ally of the United States, c) the amending of the Japanese Constitution, creating SEATO and a
military alliance among Asian neighbors, d) the creation of the Security Pact of Asia which allows
Japan to develop nuclear weapons.
20. What strategy did Japan follow to successfully build a modern industrial economy virtually
from scratch that others have copied? a) a laissez faire strategy of limited government
involvement similar to the U.S., b) comprehensive strategic planning and guidance by the state,
c) the focus is on a war-economy dominated by heavy industry, d) heavy reliance on the
agricultural sector because of limited costs.
21. What occurred historically for Japan’s leaders to argue that its nation was divine? a) Japan
was able to cure diseases that were common place elsewhere, b) Japan had never experienced
any natural disasters like its closest neighbors China and Korea, c) Because of rich natural
resources and raw materials, poverty was unheard of in Japan, d) Kublai Khan’s twice attempts
to invade Japan failed thanks to timely typhoons.
22. Zaibatsu: a) industrial manufacturing techniques imported from the West, b) cyclical
adjustments incorporated by government to assure stable growth, c) uniform customs that were
part of the elaborate system of honor and dress, d) giant holding companies in pre–World War II
Japan, each owned by and under the control of members of a particular family. Caption, p.227,
F15, 7th Ed
Fill-in Questions
1. Japan’s political system can be described:
a) as a ______________ democracy
b) and _______________ monarchy,
c) in which the emperor is merely a _______ of national ______.
2. The Japanese upper house (House of Councilors):
a) has 242 members elected for ____-_____ terms.
b) _____ of the members are elected every three years.
c) One hundred forty-six are elected from _________-_____ prefecture-wide districts;
d) ___ are elected nationally by a party list proportional representation method.
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3. The Japanese lower house (House of Representatives)
a) has ____ members elected for four-year terms, which may be shortened by the
____________ of the house.
b) Three hundred lower house members are elected from _______-_____ constituencies;
c) 180 are elected by party list proportional representation from _______ regional
electoral districts.
4. In 1889, the Meiji oligarchy responded to the demands of the “freedom and people’s rights”
movement by:
a) issuing a constitution modeled after ________
b) and establishing a bicameral legislature, the _________ _____.
c) The upper house, the House of Peers, consisted exclusively of ___________ and
appointed members,
d) the lower house, the House of Representatives, was elected by an all-male electorate of
top-bracket __________, who initially accounted for a little over 1 percent of Japan’s
total population, rising to about ____ percent by the early 1920s.
5. Under the 1889 Meiji Constitution, the emperor retained the power:
a) to approve and issue all _____;
b) open, close, and adjourn the _____;
c) and declare war, make peace, and conclude ______________ _________.
6. During the Japanese occupation under SCAP, what policies were implemented?
a) The Japanese armed forces were swiftly ___________,
b) troops were demobilized, military ___________ was halted, and ________ leaders
were either arrested or purged from their positions in the government.
c) Militaristic and ______________ institutions and practices were banned.
Answers
True or False Questions
1. False
3. False
5. True
7. True
9. False
11. False
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13. True
15. True
17. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. c
3. a
5. d
7. c
9. d
11. c
13. c
15. a
17. b
19. b
21. d
Fill-in Questions
1. a) parliamentary, b) constitutional, c) symbol, unity
3. a) 480, dissolution, b) single-seat, c) eleven
5. a) laws, b) Diet, c) international treaties.
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